Man jailed in slain officer donation scam

ESCONDIDO  Escondido police have arrested a man they say set up a scam website for donations to help slain Officer Laura Perez’s daughter.

Word that the rookie officer had been killed in her Murrieta home was still fresh last week when a fake account was placed on an online donation-soliciting site, police said.

Sami Ahmed Saeed, 25, of Escondido, was arrested at his home Wednesday and jailed on several charges including creating a fraudulent charity and committing a felony while on bail. His new bail was set at $200,000.

Perez’s husband, Freddy Perez-Rodas, is charged with murder and arson. Murrieta police said he shot his wife on July 23, hid her body in a storage locker, then set fire to their home to cover the crime. Their 4-year-old daughter was unharmed.

No donations were made to the fake website it was taken down, Escondido police Lt. Eric Skaja said.

Saeed is suspected in several bogus fundraisers for a young cancer victim, and was out of jail on bail on charges of stealing cellphones from shoppers at a mall. Police found stolen credit cards and devices to make fake ID cards when they arrested him, Skaja said.